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Lots of talk about the new Invasion of the Body Snatchers disc this week, especially on Facebook. Over at DVD Beaver they confirm that the transfer is new, and has improved contrast. And let’s pull in some other opinions, like Svet Atanasov at Blu-ray.com and Cliff Balcony at In the Balcony.

Steve Haberman wrote that Don Siegel was unhappy that some of Miles Bennell and Becky Driscoll’s light banter was dropped during a fine cut; Gary Teetzel reached out and confirmed this by referencing a “Rutgers Films in Print” publication of the shooting script, with annotations, essays and production paperwork. Gary sent me a list of eleven minor dialogue deletions that indeed might have altered the film’s overall tone. Miles jokes around more with Uncle Ira and Dr. Kaufman, and tries out some more ‘bedside manner’ with Becky at the breakfast table.

One deleted remark seems potentially wrong for 1955 — Miles jokes (nervously) about the pods when they are forming right before his eyes. And Gary notes that another scripted but un-filmed detail specifies that dust is left behind to indicate what happens to the human bodies that have been duplicated and replaced.

I would bet that after Allied Artists and Walter Wanger added Miles Bennell’s past-tense narration, they trimmed these quips and asides because of a conflict in tone. The narration enforces a grim anticipatory mood, which might clash with, or be undercut by additional joking by Miles. That’s my guess. What I was happy to learn is that the new past-tense narration does not replace expository dialogue in the film, it just reinforces things Miles has learned and that are making him increasingly worried. This means that when I eliminate Miles’ narration in my personal no-flashback fan cut of Invasion, I’m not dropping information that the audience was meant to know. The no-flashback fan cut makes the movie a subjective, this-is-happening-right-now experience.

And one last note: Dick Dinman is repeating his audio show done with me six years ago (gulp) on Olive’s first Invasion release, A Salute to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That’s when I was ‘DVD Savant,’ of course. That’s thoughtful of Dick — his show plugs my Sci-fi essay book.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

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Here’s an interesting ‘flashbak’ article by Rob Baker about the English comic Benny Hill, The Rise, Fall, and Lonely Death of Benny Hill. Hill’s Music Hall and TV background is more interesting than he is, but overall it’s a fascinating article, especially parts about the business during the war years.

And correspondent Marshall Crawford has kindly tipped me off that the newly restored version of the 1953 The War of the Worlds is now available, with extras, on iTunes. I’ll hold off a review until a disc surfaces (c’mon Paramount!) but I might just spring for this. The WOTW’53 restoration was premiered at the AMIA’s The Reel Thing last about two months ago; the big news is that the ‘wires’ are no more. It really ought to be circulated on one of those TCM nationwide special screening programs — the movie was incredibly exciting on a big screen, in Technicolor.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

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Friend and advisor Allan Peach has been telling me about a new visual attraction right next to Los Angeles’ Echo Park called 3-D Space. Their self-description reads in part, “Affectionately called the ‘3-D Bunker,’ our new center is a public space for stereoscopic art, science, and history. We are utilizing the gallery to rotate between exhibiting pieces from our museum collection, displaying contemporary works by 3-D image makers, and holding classes and presentations.” They’re holding a screening in 3-D of Creature from the Black Lagoon downtown on October 21; their website is touting a soon-to-open Exhibit called 3-D Monsters.

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I’ll be curious to see what Sony’s new Blu-ray of the Toho gem Battle in Outer Space (Uchu daisenso) looks and sounds like — the rumble on the web is mostly negative, in that complainers are saying that the Blu-ray will repeat the 2009 DVD’s annoying ‘dub-title’ problem on the Japanese audio version. I explained it in my review of that older Icons of Sci-Fi Toho Collection DVD set. Will the release indeed have two language versions? I’ve heard that it will include the older commentary, and August Ragone has reported that it will be a pressed Blu-ray, not a burned disc. I figured I’d toss these doubts out there, in case somebody with an early copy can report in. Frankly, the show could use a new transfer — Ragone (I believe) reported several years ago that some new material had been found and added to the Japanese version, but I haven’t heard any followup on that story. The disc is expected on September 25.

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And finally, my mental equilibrium from Saturday is returning … but I think this image represents well the present state of affairs in the Good Old U.S. of A.  I’m putting a “VOTE!” sign on my front yard!

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

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Hello. CineSavant is taking a time-out with the column today. Midterm elections are one month away.

Back on Tuesday, hopefully with a brighter attitude. — Glenn Erickson

Nomination hearings can get rough, can’t they? CLICK on it.